The ultimate Land Rover off-roading experience

View our pictures of the Land Rovers on display

But now it’s time for the main feature - a drive in a prototype Series 1 Land Rover affectionately known as ‘Del’ (after its 437 DEL number plate).

Series 1 Land Rover

The Series 1 is an incredible vehicle, a design classic, and this example has been lovingly restored and maintained.

I ride as a passenger first as we head straight for the Land Rover Experience 4x4 driving course. After a quick demonstration drive by Roger, we swap seats.

I’ve had some previous experience of 4x4 driving in a Jeep Cherokee at Rockingham Motor Speedway, but now the goal posts have been moved – there are no creature comforts with this vehicle. Of course, that’s part of the appeal.

There’s no power steering, and the ride is as bumpy as you’d expect from driving a 1940s vehicle round an off-road course, but this is one of the best driving experiences I’ve ever had.

It’s the first time I’ve driven a vehicle which requires double de-clutching, and it’s a lot of fun. After a couple of times round the course, Roger wants to show me what it’s like to drive the car on the road.

As we edge out onto the plant’s internal road system, I look for the Series 1’s indicators. Roger flips a switch and a yellow plastic indicator flips up from the side of the windscreen. Brilliant.

I switch from low to high-range gears and move out onto the road, and feel like I’m in a 1940s film. As driving experiences go, it doesn’t get much more raw, or enjoyable than this.

Hidden gems

We return to base and check out a couple of Land Rover’s hidden gems, literally hidden away in a shed – a real-life copy of the Land Rover specially designed for the animated series Shaun the Sheep (as featured in this edition of the Weird World of Wheels), and one of thirty City Cabs (right) built for the Sylvester Stallone film ‘Judge Dredd’.

View our pictures of the Land Rovers on display

Now it’s time to drive a bang-up-to-date vehicle - the 2.4-litre Land Rover Defender 110.

No demonstration from Roger this time. He hands me the keys and as I put on my seatbelt the first thing to strike me is the massive difference between the interiors of the Series 1 and the Defender. There are no pop-up indicators on this vehicle.

The Defender (right) is as much fun to drive as the Series 1, but for different reasons. It scales steep slopes with ease, and it’s reassuring to know you’re in one of the safest, most powerful 4x4s on the market.

The Jungle Track

“And now I want to show you the Jungle Track,” says Roger.

Excuse me?

He’s saved the best for last, and directs me to another course, across the road from the off-roading arena.

Immediately after entering the Jungle Track the Defender we drive into thick mud and the vehicle leans over at a frightening angle. It really does feel like you’re driving through a rainforest, and eventually we arrive at what I think is an impasse. Approximately 500mm of swamp water.

I press down on the accelerator and we plunge into the water. This is what it must feel like to be on Safari – driving through the water is great fun, and within seconds we’ve created a wave which sweeps ahead of us like a mini tidal wave.

Roger guides me through the rest of the course (including over a ‘collapsed bridge’), and back to the car park. He’s a generous host and instructor, even saying “you’re judging it nicely” when I was almost taking the wing mirrors off.

I’d really been looking forward to my Land Rover driving day, and hopefully the beaming smile on my face showed just how much the reality lived up to the expectations.

It’s also been a real pleasure to visit a place which prides itself in its own automotive history.

And it’s a great reminder of how far vehicle design has come in 60 years, why vintage vehicles need to be maintained, and why Land Rover is one of the nation’s best-loved institutions.

Roger Crathorne's book 'Born in Lode Lane', co-written with Gavin Green, is on sale now priced £12.50.